LID

I was so happy to wake up with an email from our coordinator informing us that we finally have an LID of 6/7/11. This is about a month later than I expected it, but at this point I'm just happy to be logged into the system. We now wait for our LOA, which is the official paperwork from China saying they have approved us to be Sprout's parents. The average wait for LOA right now is 30-60 days. The program allowing us to reuse our dossier seems like a total mess at this point so I'm going to go ahead and expect a 60+ day wait. I was praying for September travel, but now I'll be happy to have her home by Thanksgiving. No worries though; it is what it is and it is out of our hands. We will be thrilled whenever it is she joins our family. In the meantime, tomorrow is the last day of school for Chipmunk and Monkey so our summer fun can officially begin!!

A Bittersweet Surprise

While the wait for LID is still dragging on, I was thrilled to see a new message in my inbox. There is a family in Shanghai this week that is adopting a little boy from Sprout's orphanage. They were able to visit the orphanage and check on some of the children with families that are waiting. Sprout is in a different room than their new son, so I was just hoping that they were able to catch a quick glimpse of her and let me know how she looks. Imagine my surprise when I found four new pictures of our little sweetheart, along with two quick video clips!! I always love getting updated pictures of our little girl but the video brought an entirely new level of happiness. Seeing her waving at the camera and saying Mama brought tears to my eyes. After struggling during this looooong wait for an LID, the video was a great reminder that there is a beautiful little girl waiting for her mom and dad. However, it is a little bittersweet to receive new updates on her, as we can see her growing up without us there. Everyday we miss new milestones; everyday she becomes more of toddler and less of a baby; everyday she misses the love and attention that her family is anxious to share with her. The wait is so hard but so worth it.